Lawyers Say They Are ‘Free’ To Defend

In Cambodia, when personal cases become publicized and politicized, no lawyer will come forward to take the case including lawyers in the SRP.

Omnipotent power of Premier Hun Sen is enough for most (if not all) lawyers to retreat. Social and political pressures are enormous for both individuals—Mme Mu and Premier Hun. Even if Premier Hun Sen is sincere and tell the court to be fair, the court itself will not have the guts to rule against the Prime Minister. It is not going to happen easily anywhere in Asiatic society, especially in Cambodia where fear and respect go together for the head of the government.

The best thing to deal with every critical issue is for SRP to clearly think collectively in advance what kind of course of actions it should take in order to get better results for Cambodians and for Cambodia. Is a lawsuit against the Premier the best way to solve Cambodian social issues or will it trigger him to react?

The case of Madame Mu has produced great excitement for SRP’s supporters as well as for some NGOs and international organizations; however after the excitement is over, no concrete change will really take place. The CPP have been quietly watching the strength of its opponents and take good notes.

As we expected, the international community will continue to support the government of Cambodia via many programs requested by the Hun Sen’s regime. The support for the opposition, on the other hand, will be under pressure and weakening. Although some diehard opposition members would like to stick to their confrontational approaches to stir up Cambodian’s emotions to support their cause, more and more Cambodians are tired of that.

It is unfortunate that the majority of Cambodian people do not mind (some do not even think about) how Premier Hun Sen act, speak or run the government for they are too busy to make a living. Such a nonchalant manner is probably resulting from the way they are looking down on most Cambodian politicians.
In their mind Cambodian politicians are “all the same.”

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Lawyers Say They Are ‘Free’ To Defend
By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington28 July 2009
Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua faced the court over her defamation suit with the prime minister on Friday without a lawyer. After her first attorney quit—facing defamation charges himself—she was unable to find another, she said, due to “political pressure.”
Cambodian lawyers say they are free to represent the clients they want, but Mu Sochua’s case has underscored the entanglement of politics and the court that critics say stops the judiciary from being independent.
“There is no problem as long as the client approaches us,” said Cambodian attorney Poeung Thida. “We just puck up a client we feel we want to defend. If we don’t want it, we just don’t take the case. This is our free will.”
In Mu Sochua’s case, her first attorney, Kong Sam Onn, quit after he was countersued by Prime Minister Hun Sen and was put under investigation by the country’s bar association. His case was dropped after he apologized to Hun Sen. (Kong Sam Onn declined to comment, saying he left because of a “personal issue.”)
Mu Sochua defended herself with a brief statement to the court, in a case that is to be decided on Aug. 4.
Chiv Song Hak, president of the 647-member bar association, said lawyers in the country have “enough freedom” to make their own choices.
“The law does not restrict them to only representing this client and not the other,” he said. “Our code of conduct only states that a lawyer has the right to decline a client they don’t want to represent.”
Mu Sochua, a US-Cambodian citizen and deputy secretary-general for the Sam Rainsy Party, said she did not agree.
“How can a lawyer do his job if they still feel scared?” she asked. “They still feel that they will become a victim like my lawyer, Kong Sam Onn. I see that professional lawyers are vulnerable to political pressure.”
Mu Sochua had also sought legal counsel from the Cambodian Defenders Project, but the head of the organization, Sok Sam Oeun, said his group defends the poor.
“She has enough money to hire a lawyer,” he said of Mu Sochua. “And so far as I know, there are many lawyers in the Sam Rainsy Party. To say that there is no lawyer willing to represent her is unreasonable.”